Reviews

The boys are back!! With big muscles and even bigger hearts.

The basic plot of season 2 is that Rain's Im Baek-Jung goes on an unhinged crime spree to get Woo Do Hwan's Kim Gun-Woo to join his underground fight club. On the one hand, this doesn't make a ton of sense because surely there are lots of other boxers who would be happy to participate willingly and it seems like a pretty bad business model to host fights when you keep killing your opponents?? On the other hand, Gun-Woo is THE babygirl himbo, so honestly it's kind of understandable for Baek-Jung to be so obsessed with him.

Gun-Woo spends most of the season on the verge of tears and Woo-Jin gets his ass kicked multiple times and together, they are truly one of my favorite dumb and dumber duos. They are big of heart, dumb of ass, and they share one single braincell that is devoted entirely to boxing. They still can't agree on how long it should take to properly grill meat. I love them so much.

The villains are legitimately terrifying while lacking all subtlety and they are so fun to watch and root against. Rain's performance is electrifying - he's an absolute psycho and ruthlessly violent and it's impossible to look away when he's on screen. Tae Won Seok also returns as Kang In-Beom and he matches Rain's crazy toe for toe.

The fights scenes are excellent with great choreography and there are some really fun cameos as well. And shoutout to Chansung and Choi Siwon for completing the trio of idol turned actors and giving great performances. Honestly the amount of charisma and star power on display in this show is almost criminal. This is my Avengers.

The final episode is pretty rushed and the ending feels more like setup for a future season than a conclusion of this story, but the season as a whole is entertaining nonetheless. I am shocked but pleasantly surprised that Gun-Woo's mom survived and I hope they send her abroad so she can no longer be used as leverage against the boys.

I'm not the biggest fan of the recent trend of kdramas having multiple seasons but I will happily watch 20 more seasons of Gun-Woo and Woo-Jin teaming up to take down bad guys armed only with their fists and the kindness in their hearts. ACK!

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A bit disappointing

Before I go negative on this, I gotta say Jin Young was great as always. This role of Tae Seo was made for him and he did an outstanding job playing it.
It seemed like this drama started out strong, giving us a good story that was going to take off ... but it really had trouble getting off the ground. I really couldn't tolerate the two characters of Eun A & Seong Chan for so many reasons. She had a good thing waiting for her in Tae Seo, but for some reason she really had no idea what she wanted in a relationship. I never saw a character keep showing up and then leaving ... and showing up again and leaving. It became so frustrating and exhausting to follow. Why Tae Seo kept trying to make this work without any success, it was just a complete mystery to me.
The character I had so much empathy for was A Sol. She when out of her way so many times for the chance of a relationship with Tae Seo, but he just couldn't give it a try. Instead he kept ending up in front of Eun A saying "goodbye" ... and goodbye, and goodbye. They said goodbye to each other so many times you lose count.
Again, thumbs up to Jin Young. He made a bad script work well enough to keep me watching till the end ... but there was only so much he could do.

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Dylan Wang nailed it

What I liked:

1. Dylan Wang as Dongfang Qingcang completely nailed it. In the beginning he's robotic and unfeeling. Later he's depressed and angry. Finally he's loving and self-sacrificing. Wang delivers the many comic scenes with impeccable timing-and even plays a woman in a man's body without missing a beat. Added later: I just found out that a “line actor” dubbed Dylan’s voice in this series, so maybe not as great an acting job as I thought. But his visuals and expressions are still quite good.

2. Other actors also do a stellar job: Yu Shuxin as Orchid was warm, loving and believable as Dongfang's love interest. Although I agree that her nasal, whining voice almost made me change the channel in the beginning. Another great performance was that of Charles Lin who played ShangQue, Dongfang's faithful servant who is sometimes a man and sometimes a dragon-mobile. His facial expressions and general cluelessness were a wonder. Also Hong Xiao added feminine guile and energy along with a good dollop of humor. And I have to mention Zhang Linghe who goes from earnest to dissipated and back again--and is as charming as they come.

3. Costuming, CGI, and set design were gorgeous and magical. While the story got a little tedious with all the misunderstandings and downright deceit, plus the breakups and reconciliations between Dongfang and Orchid--the pace never slowed.

4. This is the first Chinese series I've seen that was genuinely both touching and funny. The humor worked seamlessly, which is rare with international dramas. Yes, it got a little sentimental in places, but otherwise-- not many missteps.

Things that could have been better:

1. A few blunders. I love the mournful flute solo that Rong Hao plays intermittently throughout the series. There's one scene where he's playing his song and then puts the instrument down-and the flute melody (at least on my screen) keeps playing. What happened to the spikes in Dongfang's body? They're supposed to cause him excruciating agony every night. We see them once, and then suddenly they're gone. Also some plot devices got recycled a bit too often. Repetitive ordeals of pain and suffering start losing their impact after the third time.

2. The music, in general, was OK, although some of the songs got a little tiresome by the end.

3. Speaking of the ending--there were a few dangling threads. For example, what happened with the romance between ShangQue and JieLi? They seemed happy, but were they dating? Were they married? Get with it, guys. It's been 500 years. Also, one of the main characters is supposedly gone forever, but then abruptly comes back. Why? How? Enquiring minds want to know.

Overall very enjoyable.

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A Touching Drama

All in all, this was a very solid series.

What I didn't like:

1. The music was intrusive and sometimes schmaltzy and sentimental.

2. The plot had touches of Hallmark hokiness.

3. At times, the writers pounded the message home with a lack of subtlety.

But what I did like far outweighs the negatives:

1. Convincing acting featuring likeable characters. The secondary characters were appealing and had interesting stories of their own, more than just placeholders.

2. This series showcased different kinds of human love-not just romantic or parental love-but love between friends, love between student and teacher, or siblings-and even love of craft.

3. In spite of a few false notes, this story was extremely effective. No easy answers to life's problems here. Just flawed human beings doing their best in an indifferent world. Touching but realistic

4. Unusual subject matter-how many ballet movies or series focus on male dancers? And the theme was an important one and worthy of the lengthy treatment it got here.

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OK...but not my favorite

The actors and characters are appealing, and I like that they feature a strong middle-aged woman as one of the leads. She even occasionally gets a few good lines, although basically she's there to play den mother to the rest of them. This series started as an interesting fantasy that turned into (yet another) variation on a police procedural. Too much school bullying and endless fighting scenes. The vision of the afterlife is unimaginative and ludicrous. Everything is white, including the file cabinets and there are some crazy rules: "We want you to catch the evil spirits who are embedded in bad, bad human beings, but, hey, don't get involved in human affairs." And what is all this stuff about the "territory" boundaries moving around. Nonsensical twaddle. I know the tousled, disheveled look is in, but it's not working for Ga Mo Tak. He needs a better hairdo.

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Mr. Magic is a stud muffin...

I prefer series with a bit more depth than this one. It was a bit saccharine and sentimental, but for what it was - it worked. Even the sound track was enjoyable. I'm a sucker for magical special effects, so I was able to excuse the simplistic message and just enjoy the visuals. I know the poor kid didn't have a mother, but someone needed to tell Ah-Yi to keep her mouth closed and trim her bangs. For 4/5ths of the series she could have done with a personality transplant. She was a little too bland and vapid for my taste. On the other hand, Ji Chang-Wook more than made up for it. When he says, "Do you...believe...in...magic?" it's to die for.

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Emotions can make you overlook untouched potential

I rated this drama higher than it deserved if you look at facts only. It had a way of understanding disabilities and everything that comes with it that it sometimes was able to pick me up right from where I stand.
But it didn't lead me far in that regard. Because all those messages lacked soil to grow roots into and a sky to rise up to. All it was was a fresh summer breeze in rustling green leaves, the sweet smell of ice cream and the sound of nostalgia wrapping you in a blanket that's oddly heavy to wear.

I feel like this drama doesn't have a pacing problem that so many critical voices mentioned. I'm fine with all nostalgia vibes and taking it slow because I liked them.
I just feel they placed a spotlight and turned it brighter and brighter when there shouldn't be any spotlights to begin with. I wanted this to be a story about all the characters, not just the mains. Instead of setting background and depth in the beginning and stumbling from event to event in the romance plot later, I wish they were interwoven more skillfully. With so much screentime available and such a great foundation, they didn't make use of everything they set up for it.

ML and 2FL were the most interesting characters by far, not only in background but also in their relationship dynamics. ML and his family's dynamics in general were a huge selling point along with the disability for me. And it all had to take a step back for FL, whose story, in comparison, felt rather mid. It feels like she was only put into the story because they needed a romantic interest for ML when there was never really space for her to begin with. Now, don't get me wrong, I also liked that the disabilities weren't the sole focus in this drama because, well, life goes on, and while disabilities shape a lot of our paths, they don't define who we are as a person entirely. But even without FL there would have been plenty to tell.

The whole plot got wrapped up in the typical Kdrama way: rushed, glossed over and with a ton of open questions. That ending just proves that they would have needed screentime to wrap up their strings and messages nicely but wasted it elsewhere instead and it is leaving an aftertaste I am not sure ruins the drama or is mild enough to overlook.

That being said, I binged this drama whenever I had a chance to. The nostalgia, the music, the friendships, the happy moments together, seeing them all deal with hardships differently were addicting. I was happy for the characters when they were and cried when they did. Despite the focus still not being exactly where I would have wanted it, I liked that the romance didn't have the main role here either. I love that I didn't like Han I Chan yet still was able to care about him deeply. Because you can't like everyone, not even if they're the "good" main characters. But you can feel for them.

It's a mood-based drama that lives off the atmosphere it creates and the hopes and dreams it dangles in front of you. I'm fine with dramas like that. It was a fun and emotional ride. But it also could have been so much more. Instead of serving the typical clichés, I wish the drama had dared to stay a bit more unique. Because whenever it did, it did so well.

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Yeon Tae Seo and his family are the only shining characters in this series

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

I am just going to come out and say this – I am a bit disappointed with this series. I can safely say that the saving grace for this series was how Park Jinyoung was able to portray the character of Yeon Tae Seo. When he was in scenes with the other actors who portrayed his grandparents and his brother, they were beautifully done. He is an actor that is able to portray emotions so well, and he did that with this character. A good example of this was when they broke up the first time – he portrayed his emotions so well there.

I liked this series in the beginning when they now met and up to when he entered college. Then, we got them ten years later. And I just lost interest in them as the episodes progressed (which is a first for me in watching anything that Park Jinyoung has starred in). Clearly communication was an issue with them, as we, the audience, saw throughout the series. I am shockingly okay with the ending, as they didn't end up together or with the SML/SFL (who I also felt nothing for or was even rooting for them to end up with the main characters).

In the end, it was nice watching another series that starred Park Jinyoung as he did an excellent job (along with the actors who portrayed his family) with his character, even with the few flaws that he had. However, I don't see myself recommending this series to others, unless you are a fan of the actors, because of how it didn't hold my interest for the whole series.

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Lackluster FL and plot flow

Having come off a great series previously, I wanted to check out another series with some repeat faces. Unfortunately, despite having a great cast of actors, the dialogue and pacing has been subpar in comparison.

Sometimes despite having some flaws, there's still enough of a combination to keep the interest there. But while this one has all of the ingredients, the plot flow didn't blend well and the characters weren't very consistent. One of those situations where someone is supposed to be highly analystical and intelligent but then becomes ignorant the next. The FL in particular also hasn't grown on me yet. For such an evidently flawed character herself (with access to her past life and choices), she does way too much lecturing towards everyone around her. She lectures women victims by convincing them to do what she wants because it's what they "should" do and then spews some long-winded comfort words that comes off condescending. The acting in her constant flashbacks were also not great.

If the FL doesn't bother you the way it did for me, I think it would still be a decent watch just based on the rest of the cast.

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My guilty pleasure

This drama is not for everybody. The phone staying intact after dropping from the top of a building does point to some details being pure fiction. It is makjang like in that YuCi changes hats as necessary to gain justice from those who wronged her. It is definitely more character driven than having a specific logical plot line. What I absolutely loved about this drama was the tension and interaction of the characters. YuCi transforms herself from the downtrodden rich girl that had her life stolen from her to a VP of Lysen. She has no support from her friends or family and her best mentor was hiding out at the mental hospital where she found herself forcibly admitted. The big question was if miracles could happen for good people? Was that even remotely possible where people were used as steppingstones and all circumstances manipulated to prevent any hope of surviving much less getting justice. YuCi is faced with seemingly insurmountable odds but refuses to stay where they bind her. Pure grit and brains help her find the ones she needs to assist her and cause the biggest blows to her opponents. The back and forth is intense and brutal. Both sides are all in for the win. I was glued to my chair for every episode just to see what happened next. The actors do an excellent job of making their characters liked or hated. We are drawn in to both worlds, the machinations of a company where the bottom line is burn all bridges to get ahead vs those cheated by signing the contract and having their life savings and livelihoods stolen and trampled. Yu Ci brings it right to them by using their vices against them. This is strongly countered and the odds are always against her. In spite of that, she is determined to get justice and make the Lysen group give back to the community as well as make money. Watching this transformation was an exciting and interesting adventure.

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Not what i expected!

This was a great story, it was somtething completely else then i expected when it started.
Unfortunatly the time jumps were not done very clear, so that was a bit confusing.
The visuals were stunning and the music beautiful.

The actors did a good job, the moments with emotions were done very good. Unfortunatly the "normal" acting felt a bit flat, you could see they still need a bit more experience in acting to grow and act natural troughout the whole drama.
The mains had amazing chemistry and kisses and the intimate scenes were great too. They show quite a bit, but not too much. The last intimate scene was filmed so beautiful.

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Cute

Devo dire proprio carina. Molto semplice, molto easy, insomma, una serie che merita il pomeiggio che ho occupato a vederla. Mi sono piaciuti molto i protagonisti e il loro rapporto, come è cresciuto gradualmente, ma in maniera sempre costante. Oggettivamente è più un 8,5 che un 9, ma la ho apprezzata, ho apprezzato la stoaria e dev dire che ho deciso che non mi interessa più non sovrastimare i voti che do. Nel senso che se ho voglia di dare un voto altro lo do, fine della storia. Mi sono piaciute anche le piante grasse che sono praticamente diventate dei personaggi paganti.
E niente, una storia piacevole, ma con un twist che si apprezza devo dire.

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This is Opium Drama

You know when i write this long drama review on my duanju diaries means this drama was like opium.

I am Tian Xiwei silent watcher since New Life Begins and Wrong Marriage and feels she was overlooked actress while for Zhang Linghe i never finish most of his dramas since his acting was not my cup of tea. (1 Bailu , 2 Esther yu's, 2 Zhao Jinmai's, 1 Xu Ruohan) and this is the first time i ever finished Zhang Linghe dramas. The chemistry between them is like Coca cola and Mentos experiment. I quite like FL character growth since it was quite consistent and contrast to popular belief ML got his character growth not based on his fighting skill (he always injured but still give his best) but for emotional intelligent. One thing i found rare in Chinese Long drama is having strong emotional FL who not really depend of Love over all.

The beginning of the drama (Ep 1-18) are too strong and well written since they want to focused on Linan arc. They successfully make all of supporting characters got the spotlight (for example: Mrs Kang, Magistrate Daughter). But somehow they kind of losing the actual purpose on Episode 23-26 and the most thing i couldn't accept is Jin secret love to Changyu. It was kind of annoying can the scriptwriter make the relationship more platonic. I want to see more Xie Wu and Xie Qi relation to the Fan's Sister and it was overshadowed by Mr Jin. Man Di death was unfortunate but they kind make not realistic by not letting Changyu had proper farewell to him (They cut the plot too often so most of usual watcher will confused).

I love Deng Kai acting but scriptwriter-sama please reduce the second CP moment on the last 30 episode (yeah Snow Kong and Deng Kai got chemistry but the limited of drama duration should to give the Main lead backstory) and Su Yuanqing with the cousin scene was unnecessary too. Lin Muran acting's is make me gasped since he is quite young star.

The weakness of Zeng Qing Jie works related to political arc on this drama based from his previous work (General He drama, Wei Yan backstory, How Xie Zheng know Chang Yu real identity) but he give some color scenery that reminds me of Lord of The Rings trilogy so i kind forgive him for the lack of Political aspect on this drama.

Despite of all of my rambling about political aspect, i still recommended this drama~

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